My Worse Flight Experience (for now)

When bad things hit, they hit all at once.

I was supposed to fly from Ohio to Utah on Saturday evening, but it's now 12.45 a.m., Sunday morning, and guess where I'm typing this? At the Columbus, Ohio airport. I am still stuck in Buckeyeland, and it has been a rough night.

Let's start at when I went through the security check. My contact lens solution set off the alarm because it contained hydrogen peroxide, and hence, I had to undergo a full body pat down and luggage check. The pat down wasn't too bad because there weren't many people around. However, the male officer opened my carry-on luggage that had been stuffed to the max. In an attempt to avoid paying the (stupid) check-in luggage fees, I had crammed a whole week's worth of necessities and gifts into my carry-on luggage, that included my clothes, undergarments, sealed bags with my toiletries, and sealed bags of ba kwa (Singaporean bbq-ed roast pork). He took out EVERYTHING, unsealed every bag, and scanned every item, while I received the pat down. The contents of my suitcase was scattered all over the table, and it didn't help that he had to touch and scan my underwear. Yes, he wore gloves, and the check was conducted in a professional manner, but I still feel semi-violated when I think about his gloved hands on my underwear. When it was over (and what do you know? I'm not a terrorist) I had to repack my entire luggage right there at the security checkpoint.

As I repacked my luggage, I heard the announcement that my plane was boarding. I threw the rest of my things in, and rushed to my gate (thank goodness the airport is small!). When I boarded the plane, there was a flight officer making some announcement. I got to my seat, and realized that because I had arrived late, there were no overhead bins to hold my luggage near my seat, and the closest available space was way up front. Left with no choice, I stowed it there and went back to my seat. But at the moment I sat down, I heard the flight officer announce that there was a massive storm approaching Columbus, and as a result, the plane would be grounded for an hour.

AN HOUR?! Which meant that I was definitely going to miss my connecting flight in Chicago (my transit time was only 70 minutes). The flight officer suggested that everyone who would miss a connecting flight should approach the airline help desk to reschedule an entire flight itinerary. So I collected my heavy, over-stuffed luggage that I had just stowed, and waited in the long line to book another route. When my turn finally came, I learned that I had booked the very last flight of United of the day, and no other United flights were leaving that evening. I had 2 choices: a) go to Chicago that evening on the delayed flight, wait till the morning for another connecting flight to Salt Lake City, or b) wait till the next morning to fly out to Chicago or Houston, then onward to Salt Lake City. Either way, I was only going to be able to fly to Utah the next day.

Not good choices but what could I do? So I booked my flight for the next day (*cross fingers no massive storms again*), and treated myself to a nice dinner because I was already on the cusp of a breakdown. Keep in mind that I'm still suffering from massive, whack-o jet lag, having flown back from Singapore to the United States only 5 days ago. I also moved into my new apartment Saturday morning, and was already tired from moving and unpacking. Thus after filling my tummy, I proceeded to find a spot in the checked-in, secured area to wait out the night. I had decided against getting a hotel room or staying overnight with a friend for a variety of reasons, plus it shouldn't be too bad with the cushion-y chairs and free Wi-Fi, right?

Wrong. I was enjoying my respite from the already rough night, when around 12.30 a.m., a security guard approached me and told me that I had to leave the secured area, and wait outside in the pre-security check area. WHICH MEANS THAT I WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE FULL SECURITY CHECK IN THE MORNING AGAIN!!!

I wanted to cry. It has been a terrible experience, and I'm trying to remain positive. I'm safe, have Wi-Fi, a new itinerary for tomorrow, and food to last me till I arrive in Utah. The sympathetic waitress that served me dinner also taught me to take out all liquid containers from my luggage for a separate scan. That way, if the alarm went off again, security officers would only test the containers, and not my entire luggage. Brilliant idea that I am definitely going to try later!

But I really, really, really, really, really am praying that everything goes smoothly from here on out. And that I get over my jetlag tonight so that I can catch some sleep. Being wide awake in the early hours (like now) stinks.